husband

Whether you are married, have been together for years or just dating, Valentine’s Day can be an expensive occasion! The price of gifts and flowers goes up for the day, far above the usual costs. But not everyone can afford to get rich, lavish bouquets of flowers year after year, and all the extras on top, plus a night out somewhere fancy. (Especially if you have a lot of birthdays around end of January and February like our little family). So I’ve put together a few ideas for those who want different ways to spoil your Valentine without flowers.

Have a Picnic

Here in Australia, Valentine’s Day is at the end of summer, so quite warm still. Pack together a picnic hamper and take your Valentine out to a favourite location -a park, the beach, etc. We love going to our local lagoon and watching the ducks and swans whilst we sit on a rug.

Cook a favourite meal

Does your loved one have a favourite dish that you can create at home? Why not spend the night in, cooking it together. Put out the fancy dinnerware, open a bottle of wine and throw in some flowers from the garden. Or those romantic candles you never get a chance to use except in power outages. A nice romantic dinner for two, that you have both helped create can be delightful! Or a breakfast with just the two of you!

Experiences

Try something new with your Valentine. Arrange for a horse riding outing, a hot air balloon ride or take a trip to somewhere you’ve never been before. New adventures can help sustain that spark you have for each other, rather than being stuck in the same boring old routine all the time.

Pamper Session

Whether you get your Valentine a pamper session at the local salon or some DIY products for use at home, pampering is always appreciated! Ladies and gents all need a little bit of time to unwind and relax after the busy lives we live these days! I love it when my husband helps fuel my love for Jamberry wraps and other beauty experiences.

See a Movie

Find out a current movie your Valentine is keen to go to, and organise tickets to go with them for a session. (And be sure to not critique or ask constant questions during the movie!)

Make your own Slideshow

Using photos of your Valentine, create a digital slideshow or album for them. Let them know which moments you’ve enjoyed having with them.

The gift of Time

Sometimes all our partner wants is a bit of time spent with you, their partner. Time that isn’t taken up with worrying about the kids, the mortgage or how work has been. So set aside some time to just be the two of you together.

Now, I still personally won’t say no to the flowers if they turn up on Valentine’s Day. But I’d also love if some of these other activities were thrown into the mix. I do enjoy knowing that my husband loves me and wants to spoil me in any way he can. If you have any ideas of different ways to spoil your Valentine without flowers, comment below.

The problem

My husband has a secret habit. It’s not the worst habit he could have, but it is entirely devastating to my winter wardrobe. You see my husband can drive me insane simply by pinching and wearing my socks! My socks!

If that isn’t enough to drive you insane then this surely will. He has great big man feet! He pulls on my little ladies socks (okay, maybe not so little at ladies size 9 Au, but smaller than his), and the sock is forever stretched, never to return to its original size again. Never! And try as I might, they just will not fit right any more…falling down into my shoes, instead of sitting where good socks do.

Maybe if I was a better 1950s wife and always had his socks matched up in his drawer ready to go, this wouldn’t happen. He’d have every pair in there ready to do, instead of in the washing baskets in the lounge room because it’s his job to fold his own darn socks!

But instead of that situation, we have this one. One where I go to find my pair of new black socks that I knew I got off the line yesterday. Yet one is missing from the basket. In all likelihood said sock has made it into his suitcase for a trip to Melbourne, never to be seen by me again.

Attempts at solving the problem

Now I’ve tried a few methods to try and keep my socks safe. Made sure all mine went straight in my sock drawer. Nope! He just pinches a pair from there when he can’t find a match. Buying big safety pins to clip his together in the wash. But he’s not organised to do that last thing at night when he takes his socks off. I’ve even bought socks with pink/purple accents so he could tell they were mine. He doesn’t look. And doesn’t really care. He will wear any socks! Even my knee length frilly pair! Stretched! Gone to sock heaven! No wonder he can drive me insane.

The not-so-perfect solution

Of course I still love him to pieces! It would just be nice if my socks could last one season! I think I’m resigned to the fact he will always lose his socks (and mine). Maybe I should just throw out all the old unmatched ones and make a new start of it. With a brand new husband proof lock on my sock drawer to lessen the chance of him being able to drive me insane.

What things does your husband/partner do that drive you crazy? Comment below! Surely mine isn’t the only thing to do silly things like this!